Chris Elsberry: No one ever thought Ollie, UConn could pull this off

Updated 11:45 pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013

STORRS -- Admit it, all you members of Husky Nation. Raise your hands if you thought that Kevin Ollie could pull not one, but almost 20 rabbits out of his magic hat. Anyone? I'm looking ¦ I'm looking ¦ ummm, not too many. Perhaps that esteemed gentleman from Pomfret.

If it makes you feel better, I didn't think they'd win this many games either. I figured 15 wins, maybe 17 tops. But 19? With three more chances at 20? No way. Not with this group.

I mean, come on. Think of what Ollie had to work with. Two solid guards; a highly touted, but untested freshman; and a frontcourt that probably would have had a hard time starting for Quinnipiac or Fairfield.

Yet, there they were, devastated by a point in double overtime by No. 7 Georgetown Wednesday night in front of 10,127 crazies at Gampel Pavilion. An incredible game that, if Ryan Boatright could have found a little bit more of that Ollie magic, the Huskies would have been celebrating win No. 20.

And they will. Either on Saturday in Cincinnati or next Wednesday in South Florida or in the season finale on March 9 against Providence. UConn will get 20 wins and that will be an amazing accomplishment.

And that's a stat that I'm betting no one, absolutely no one, thought would happen.

"I think 20 is always a magical number in basketball," said Pomfret resident Jim Calhoun, someone who knows a little something about 20-win seasons. "Particularly when you can't play in the postseason. They've got a chance to make a significant accomplishment."

They want 20 wins as bad as any team has ever wanted a 20-win season. Winning 20 (or more) is all the Huskies have to play for. Because of an NCAA ban, everyone knows there isn't going to be a postseason. No Big East tournament. No NCAA invitation. And while UConn is only playing for pride, the Huskies are also playing to prove a lot of people wrong.

"Everyone expected that we were going to be garbage this year," Boatright, a sophomore guard, said. "No one thought we were going to win 10 games. (Winning 20) would mean a lot, considering no one expected anything from us."

Back in October, the Big East coaches didn't think much of the Huskies, voting them in the second half of the pack, in ninth place, in the preseason poll. And looking at a conference schedule with the likes of Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Pitt and Georgetown -- among others -- most experts felt the Huskies would win a few more than 10 games, but likely not many more.

But then came a season-opening victory over No. 14 Michigan State and wins over the Irish (then ranked No. 16) and the Orange (No. 6), and just like that, this season was becoming special, despite having nothing to play for.

"Going into this season, I thought we were going to be better than people thought because we had good guys," Calhoun said. "Omar (Calhoun) has gotten better, Shabazz has had a great, great year, and conversely, I think Kevin has done a great, great job with the guys that he has. I can tell you one thing, I feel a great deal of pride, as much as I would in a son for accomplishing something."

The Huskies came so close to accomplishing something incredible Wednesday. With just 4:36 to play, the Hoyas led 60-48. But the Huskies battled, forcing defensive stops and suddenly making big shots. And when Omar Calhoun buried a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.2 seconds left, the game was headed to overtime.

A six-point lead in the second overtime was lost, however, and when Otto Porter raced into the lane and made a layup with eight seconds left, Georgetown escaped with a 79-78 win.

"We've got a lot of heart, man, we never die. We never give up, no matter what the circumstances," Boatright said. "Whatever's going against us, we aren't ever going to give up. That's our identity and we're going to stick to it."

Their identity is also about guts. Napier played 47 minutes, probably 30 of that on a sprained ankle that he twisted when he came down on Mikeal Hopkins' foot. DeAndre Daniels scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, playing 49 of 50 minutes. Boatright played 47 and Calhoun 49, each one willing themselves on, even when where wasn't anything (it seemed) left in the tank.

"We just kept battling, kept fighting, showed character," Ollie said. "Showed perseverance ¦ showed heart. That's what our team is all about. This team is all about heart.

"You can say we're small, we don't rebound, you can write whatever you want to, but I hope that you all write that we got heart. And at the end of articles, just say that we have heart."